Vinylboron Self-Promoted Carbonylative Coupling with Cyclobutanone Oxime Esters.

Despite the significant progress that has been made in the area of catalyst-dependent chemistry, the exploration of a greener and more environmentally benign catalyst-free reaction remains one of the most important areas in modern chemistry. Herein, we present a vinylboron self-promoted carbonylative coupling with cyclobutanone oxime esters. Various cyclobutanone oxime esters and substituted styrylboronic acids can be transformed into the corresponding enones in moderate to good yields. Detailed EPR investigations and control experiments provide sufficient evidence to show that this reaction goes through a single-electron transfer process.